Full Zoolz Review

Zoolz is the cloud backup service by Genie9 and is one of the few services that takes advantage of Amazon Cold Storage to help keep their costs for storage low. Zoolz has gone through some rebranding since I first heard about them. In fact John, who used to write for the site, was close to having his review done of Zoolz when they did a sudden shift from home users to focus more on business users. That initial review was back in late 2012 and I have been hesitant to review them again in the event they decided to make another shift. They have seemed to be content to focus more on business users since their initial rebranding and I think they have decided their business model fits best for business users and not home users but they do offer both a home and business accounts.

Getting Started
To start using Zoolz you will want to visit the Zoolz website and create an account. They offer a free 14 day trial so you can give it a try to see if it is what you business needs to backup and store your files in the cloud. They don’t ask for much information on the sign up page only basic contact information. Once you have created an account you can download the Zoolz desktop application and start the setup on your desktop. The website at the time of writing this review focuses on the business service. If you are a home user you will need to hunt in the footer menu for their home options. This makes the Zoolz website and service confusing in my opinion.

Installation
Once you have created your free Zoolz account you can download the desktop software to start backing up your computer. They currently support Windows and Mac but I have only tested the Windows version. Install is easy. Download the application from the website and follow the installer. Once Zoolz is installed you will have to login using the account information you used to create the account on the Zoolz website. Once you are logged in you can set up your initial backup.

Backing Up
The backup process starts once the initial setup is complete. You can select from a number of file sets and / or select specific folders to select your files for backup. You can also select which files should be in your instant storage or in your cold storage. You can then select how often you want the Zoolz backup to run and if you want to use a private encryption key or go with the standard Zoolz encryption password. Once complete the backup will scan you files and start backing up.

Overall the backup setup is fairly easy to get the majority of your files selected. The addition of files sets is nice and for those that want to backup other specific folders you have that option as well. Unfortunately I thought the addition of the cold storage option to be an extra step that might be confusing. Granted for IT people this might not be an issue as to what folders to select for cold storage, but for non IT people I thought it could be confusing.

Restoring
In the event of a data disaster you can easily restore your files from Zoolz. If you are away from your computer you can use the web portal to download your files. Simply login and select the folders/files you want to download.

If you have access to your computer you can use the Zoolz desktop client to initiate a restore. Simply go to the dashboard and select the restore tab and you can select the files you want to restore, where you want to restore them too and the client will do the rest. I had no problem restoring files that I had backed up. If your files are in cold storage the process might not be as quick, but it is similar.

Mobile App
Zoolz offers mobile apps for both Android and iOS, you can find them in the either in the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store. The apps are both pretty similar and offer access to your backed up files. You can also share your files and save files to your device for viewing while offline. They are currently only access type of apps. I was a little disappointed in the Android app considering how good the Genie9 G Cloud Backup is. Also seems confusing that Genie9 has an Android backup app and a Zoolz cloud backup. While they serve different purposes I guess I don’t see why they are not part of the same app.

Web Portal
The Zoolz web portal offers many of the standard web portal options. You can access your files, manage users, even upload and share files. Sharing even offers you some nice business features like adding a password, delivery notifications and the ability to set an expiry date. If you are using Zoolz as your file server in the cloud you can even set policies to limit what users can do and access. Great for those businesses that have a number of users that don’t need access to all the files that are available.

Overall
If you are looking for an easy, economical way to take advantage of Amazon Cold Storage Zoolz can offer your home or business an easy way to do that. Their software is fairly easy to use and works well. Unfortunately for Zoolz, if you are a home user there are better alternatives for cloud backup and storage at better prices than they can offer. Zoolz has since started offering unlimited storage using Amazon Glacier for homje users at very affordable price. Worth looking if you need long term storage and an easy tool to use it. For a business Zoolz is more competitive and offers a good option compared to services like MozyPro, Carbonite for Business and CrashPlan Pro.

Zoolz Home is a good choice for home users if they want to take advantage of the Amazon Glacier storage service. It does get confusing that Genie 9 has multiple backup software solutions.